Holly is a symbol of goodwill and joy. In the Victorian language of flowers, holly means foresight. Holly is seen as a symbol of good luck in both Christianity and Islam. But most importantly for me, it is said that disputes are often solved "under the holly tree"

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Friday, January 25, 2008

As We Witness the Brutal Blockade of Gaza, Remember The Blockade of Iraq and How Many People Died

This post is in response to Ted's comment on THIS post concerning the siege of Gaza and the humanitarian crisis which is its' result. He wrote: " If governments would learn that if they talked to each other and met each other half way things would be better.

Blockades, embargo's, sanctions don't hurt anyone but the people and all they do is make the people resentful against the country causing their hardship.

"All of us are concerned about the impact of closed border crossings on Palestinian families," wrote Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, in his letter to Khalilzad. "However, we have to understand why Israel is forced to do this. Gaza is governed by Hamas, which is a terrorist organization sworn to Israel's destruction, and Israeli civilians are being bombarded on an almost daily basis." (source)

No government is FORCED to do what Israel is doing, they have CHOSEN collective punishment of the Palestinians in Gaza.

Lest we forget, Hamas offered a cease fire on numerous occasions and on each occasion Israel refused it.

As the world looks on as Gaza suffers and they break down the wall to get to the supplies, foods,medicine, other things unavailable or too costly in Gaza, as we see Palestinians refused exit for necessary life saving medical care, we should look back and remember, the US who is now refusing to condemn the blockade of Gaza, themselves led the sanctions against Iraq which resulted in more than one million deaths there. Is it any surprise that the US refuses to confront Israel, (who they RARELY confront anyways) when they themselves were responsible for the genocide of more than one million Iraqis BEFORE the invasion/occupation?